Chippewa Nature Center event raises environmental awareness

Published 6:30 am, Monday, April 28, 2014

A Chippewa Nature Center employee shows a group of volunteers what the evasive exotic plant called garlic mustard looks like in this Daily News file photo.

A Chippewa Nature Center employee shows a group of volunteers what the evasive exotic plant called garlic mustard looks like in this Daily News file photo.

Chippewa Nature Center event raises environmental awareness

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Earth Day may have been last Tuesday, but the Chippewa Nature Center honored it on Saturday.

Experience Earth Day gave Chippewa Nature Center visitors and volunteers a chance to improve the environment. The event showed everyone what kind of invasive exotic plants are harmful, how to properly plant trees and had everyone picking up trash along the Pine River.

Jeanne Henderson, interpretive naturalist at the Nature Center, said it’s important for people to be aware of the issues that threaten the environment.

“Earth Day is a time where people try to focus on good stewardship activities for the planet,” Henderson said. “It started to draw people’s attention to the need to start learning about and caring for a healthy environment. It’s for people, but it’s also for all the animals, plants, insects and everything out there.”

At least 11 volunteers showed up in the morning to go into the woods to pull invasive exotic plants and pick up trash, led by Natural Resources Manager Curt Holsinger. While they worked, Holsinger explained the issues invasive plants such as garlic mustard and dame’s rocket can create.

One of the volunteers, Bob McGee, used to live the woods near the Chippewa Nature Center. McGee said picking the plants will help the deer that live in the area.

“The invasive exotics will take over an area where a standard natural species is. When the animals come in and browse on their native species, it leaves more room for the invasives to grow. So next year, there wouldn’t be enough room for the native species to grow back,” McGee said. “It takes away from the natural (growth) that animals like deer would feed on.”

Other volunteers like Andrea Foster came out to be part of nature, and to try to learn and give back to nature as much as she can.

“It’s a very calming feeling, being out in nature. With the high-stress jobs I have, it’s a good idea to come out and be a part of something that we all come from,” Foster said. “Having that opportunity to learn about them is very cool.”